This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Castleton State College (CSC) Highlights Spring 2009 Project Grant Awarded: Dr. Lara Carlson + Spring 2009: Brad Coupe of CSC and Meriel Brooks of Green Mountain College were awarded a VT EPSCoR grant. Their proposal on "Developing an Index of Biotic Integrity for Larval Cyprinidae to Test Water Quality" was fully funded ($14,792) for work to take place this summer and next year, including money to pay students for both lab and field work + Spring 2009: Lara Carlson, Nicolas Wescott, Travis Martell and Vanessa Carter accepted to present at the American College of Sports Medicine National Conference, May, 2009, Seattle + Fall 2008: Lara Carlson, Nicolas Wescott, Travis Martell, Vanessa Carter, and Scott Tighe published an abstract in Medicine &Science in Sports &Medicine + Fall 2008: Lara Carlson published in the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism + Fall 2008: Jeff Werner incorporated a proteomics unit into analytical chemistry course;students toured UVM proteomics facility and ran peptide samples using LC-MS/MS, with Bryan Ballif + Fall 2008: Career Panel discussion for students, organized by Jeff Werner &Karen Lounsbury __________________________________________________ Highlights Johnson State College July 1, 2008 [unreadable]June 30, 2009 + VGN Grant Awards 1 Pilot Grant Awarded Dr. Gina Mireault 1 Project Grant Awarded Dr. Hans Haverkamp + Faculty attended the 7th annual VGN retreat on August 13, 2008. + Dr. Robert Genter collaborated with the VT-EPSCoR Streams Project, VTDEC, and LCNRCD on a research project investigating sources of total phosphorus and E. coli from three land uses in the Lamoille River drainage basin. Two undergraduate students, Tim Thurston and Greg Perry assisted on the project with Dr. Genter. + In August, the science faculty developed a department research project. The research project is an interdisciplinary study of the Lamoille Valley watershed integrating the geology, ecology, biology, chemistry, and climatology of this ecosystem. The planning and development of the project have continued through the academic year. + The College submitted an application to participate in CUR's NSF funded regional workshop on institutionalizing undergraduate research. Our application was not accepted (8 of 56 were accepted), but the Academic Dean convened a mini-retreat of the "JSC team" to continue the planning of creating a sustainable culture of research at JSC. + Four faculty attended the Third Vermont Genetics Network Professional Development Seminar, Best Practices for Integrating Teaching and Research on Saturday, January 24 at Middlebury College. + JSC became an institutional member on the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR). + Dr. Gina Mireault's VGN-funded research on infant humor is highlighted in the local media. o News articles appeared in the Times Argus and Rutland Herald o A segment appreared on WCAX News on December 24, 2009 + Three students of Dr. Gina Mireault were selected to present their research at the CUR sponsored "Posters on the Hill" conference in May 2009. + The President's Fund is supporting purchase of a digital meter for the watershed research project. + Dr. Elizabeth Dolci presented to the VSC Board of Trustees an overview of the "Building a Student-Oriented Culture of Research at JSC" in December 2009. + A team of three faculty are attending the CUR sponsored Dialogues's Conference from April 2-4, 2009 + The Department of Environmental &Health Sciences is hosting an evening pizza and seminar event for science majors on April 23, 2009. Two students (Tim Thurston and Greg Perry) who were funded by VT EPSCoR will present their research findings to fellow students, faculty, and administrators. + Science students are participating in the third annual Extended Classroom Experience Day at the College. Over 23 students in the sciences are presenting posters at this College-wide event. + Four science faculty attended the AAC&U sponsored conference on Engaging Science, Advancing Learning: General Education, Majors, and the New Global Century in Providence, RI from November 6-8. + Drs. Hans Haverkamp and Gina Mireault organized and presented a professional development seminar to faculty on Developing a Research Program at JSC on March 24. + Dr. Tania Bacchus participated in the NASA/FINESSE initiative. + Seven students (Karina Lepeley, Gabriel McConkey, Andrew Mitchell, Francesca Orsini, Jonathan Owen, Charlotteo Roozekrans, and Jennifer Taylor) attended the Scripps Medical Center's 6th Annual Natural Supplements Conference in San Diego where they presented a poster titled "An Undergraduate College Curriculum Proposal: Dietary Supplements for Wellness, Disease and Sustainable Global/Environmental Healthcare." Their poster received the top award. + Stephen Roy and Jennifer Dickie, JSC graduates (formerly funded by VGN) published an article with Dr. Dain LaRoche (former JSC faculty and VGN recipient) in the September 2008 issue of The Journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Medicine. The article was titled "Elderly Women Havel Blunted Response to Resistance Training Despite Reduced Antagonist Coactivation." + Several faculty served as reviewers of manuscripts. Dr. Genter has reviewed articles for the journals Ecotoxicity and Environmental Toxicology &Chemistry., Dr. Kanat is currently reviewing chapters in an environmental science textbook by Richard Wright that is to be published at Pearson Education + Dr. Robert Genter is working on a collaborative research project with VTDEC on distribution of Didymosphenia geminata ("rock snot") in VT Rivers. + Dr. Tania Bacchus has continued work on the weather project that evaluates the changing weather patterns across the northern tier of Vermont (JSC [unreadable]Burlington, BTV [unreadable]Morrisville, MVL stations primarily) [unreadable]this also included setting up the new weather station and running a 3 month comparison analysis between the new and the old. _________________________________________________ Middlebury College Highlights, 2008-2009 Note: VGN-related activities are excluded from this report. VGN Grant Awards Project Grants Awarded Mark Spritzer Kim Cronise Pilot Project Grants Awarded Carlos Velez-Blasini Student Academic Year Grants Awarded Nathan Edwards Kristin Maletsky Ashley Panichelli Mitchell Pesesky Daniel Rosmarin DaWeon Ryu Highlights [unreadable] Professor Sunhee Choi (Chemistry and Biochemistry) was named The John G. McCullough Professorship of Chemistry. [unreadable] Professor Grace Spatafora (Biology Department, Program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry) was named the The Irene Heinz and John LaPorte Given Professorship in Pre-medical Sciences;she was also nominated to receive the Carski Undergraduate Teaching Award from the American Society for Microbiology. [unreadable] Assistant Professor Jeremy Ward (Biology Department, Program in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry was awarded an NSF Career Award ($875,000 over five years). [unreadable] Professor Grace Spatafora was elected to full membership in the Vermont Academy of Sciences and Engineering. [unreadable] On January 23 and 24, Ms. Franci Farnsworth and Professor Bob Cluss organized a Professional Development Seminar on "Best Practices for Integrating Teaching and Research". The featured speaker, Dr. Bert Holmes from the NSF Program Office in the Division of Undergraduate Education , overviewed various NSF programs that support undergraduate teaching and research. The Saturday program included a panel discussion led by Dr. Kevin Fleming (Norwich University), Jeremy Ward (Middlebury College), and Shane Lamus (Saint Michael's College). Over 40 individuals from BPIs attended the events. [unreadable] Professor Mathew O. Kimble's research was described in Jennings, M. (2008). The War Within: What effect does the stress of combat have on the brain? Middlebury Magazine, 82(4), 37-39. [unreadable] Professor Grace Spatafora served as a reviewer for the NIH ODCS Study Section, the Journal of Bacteriology, Molecular Microbiology, and Microbiology. Peer-Reviewed Publications (*denotes student collaborator) Lippa, R.A., Collaer, M.L., Peters, M. (in press, 2009). Sex differences in mental rotation and line angle judgments are positively associated with gender equality and economic development across 53 nations. Archives of Sexual Behavior. Collaer, M. L., Brook, C.G.D., Conway, G. S., Hindmarsh, P.C. &Hines, M. (2009). Motor development in individuals with congenital adrenal hyperplasia: Strength, targeting, and fine motor skill. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 34, 249-258. Dunning, D.W.*, L.W. McCall*, W.F. Powell*, W. T. Arscott*, E. M. McConocha*, S. D. Goodman, and G. Spatafora. 2008. SloR modulatioin of the Streptococcus mutans acid tolerance response involves the GcrR response regulator as an essential intermediary. Microbiology 154:1132-43. Kimble, M. O., Neacsiu, D., Flack, W., Horner, J. (2008). Risk of unwanted sex in college females: Evidence for a "red zone." Journal of American College Health, 57(3), 331-337. Kimble, M.O. (2008). The neurobiology of PTSD: Effects on public perception and patient care. Journal of Trauma Psychology, 6(4), 57-78. Kimble, M.O., Frueh, B.C., Marks, L. (in press). Does the modified Stroop effect exist in PTSD? Evidence for the file drawer effect from dissertation abstracts. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. Young, H.J. 2008. Selection on spur shape in Impatiens capensis. Oecologia 156:535-543. Larrabee, J. A.;*Chyun, S-A.;*Volwiler, A. S. "Magnetic Circular Dichroism Study of a Methionine Aminopeptidase/Fumagillin Complex and Dicobalt II-II and II-III Model Complexes" Inorg. Chem. 2008, 47, 10499-10508. Hadler, K. S.;Tanifum, E.;Yip, S. H-C.;Mitic, N.;Guddat, L. W.;Jackson, C. J.;Gahan, L. R.;Carr, P.;Ollis, D. L.;Hengge, A. C.;Larrabee, J. A.;Schenk, G. "Substrate Induced Formation of a Catalytically Competent Binuclear Center and Regulation of Reactivity in Glycerophosphodiesterase from Enterobacter aerogenes" J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 14129-14138. Johansson, F. B.;Bond, A. D.;Nielsen, U. G.;Moubaraki, B.;Murray, K. S.;Berry, K. J.;Larrabee, J. A.;McKenzie, C. J. "Dicobalt II[unreadable]II, II[unreadable]III and III[unreadable]III Complexes as Spectroscopic Models for Dicobalt Enzyme Active Sites" Inorg. Chem. 2008, 47, 5079-5092. V[unreadable]lez-Blasini, C. J. (2008). Evidence against alcohol as a proximal cause of sexual risk taking among college students. Journal of Sex Research, 45(2), 118-128. Conference and Invited Presentations (* denotes student collaborator) Ayala, E., J. S. Downey, W. Hendrickson*, G. Spatafora, and S. D. Goodman. 2009. Accumulating Evidence Implicates VicK as a Cognate Histidine Kinase for the GcrR Orphan Response Regulator in Streptococcus mutans. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiolog, Philadelphia, PA. Collaer, M.L. (Jan 22, 2009). Human Sex Differences in Visuospatial Skill: Potential Hormonal Markers and Cross-cultural Patterns. Invited address at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Collaer, M.L. (Jan 22, 2009). Teaching at a Liberal Arts Institution. Informal address to graduate students and post docs at Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI. Choi, Sunhee. Vermont Academy, December 5, 2008. "Stories behind the discoveries of an anticancer drug, cisplatin, and the structure of DNA". Choi, Sunhee. Department of Chemistry, Seoul National University, November 17, 2008. "Mechanism of oxidation of DNA by Pt(IV) Complexes". Choi, Sunhee The 4th Asian Biological Inorganic Chemistry Conference, Jeju, Korea, November 10-13, 2008. "Mechanism of oxidation of DNA by Pt(IV) Complexes". Drucker W.S., Gart A., Stefani M.R. Spatial working memory is unaffected by 5'-adenosine monophosphate-induced hypothermia in rats. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 34, 2008. Kimble, M.O. Vigilance and Visual Attention in Combat Veterans (February 4, 2009). Invited Talk. Norwich University. Psychology Department. Northfield, VT. Kimble, M.O. Teaching Trauma. (2008). Paper presented at the 24th Annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL. Kimble, M.O., Batterink, L., Marks, L., Bababekov. (2008). The N400 as a measure of semantic expectancy in trauma survivors. Paper presented at the 24th Annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL. Kimble, M.O., Bowman, L., Bababekov, Y., Marks, L. (2008). The novelty P300 as an index of symptom severity in trauma survivors. Paper presented at the 24th Annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL. Kimble, M.O., Frueh, B.C., Marks, L. (2008). Does the modified Stroop effect (MSE) exist in PTSD? Paper presented at the 24th Annual meeting of the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Chicago, IL. Kimble, M., Fleming, K., Bandy, C., Jones., B., Atyia, D., Kim, J. (2008). Psychological correlates of brain activity in military cadets and undergraduates. Annual Meeting of the Vermont Genetics Network. Burlington, VT. Larrabee, J. A.;*Volwiler, A. S.;*Lieb-Lappen, M. D. "Magnetic Circular Dichroism of Inhibitor Complexes of Cobalt (II) Methionine Aminopeptidase from Escherichia Coli", The fourth Asian Biological Inorganic Chemistry Conference, November 10-14, 2008, Jeju, Korea. O'Rourke K.* and G. Spatafora. 2009. Genome-wide characterization of the SloR Metalloregulome in Streptococcus mutans. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiolog, Philadelphia, PA. Sandwick, R. "The Wonderful World of Protein Glycation", VGN Annual Meeting, August 13th, 2009. Schwartzman, J. A.* and G. Spatafora. 2008. Accumulating evidence implicates a ferric uptake regulator [Fur] in the Streptococcus mutans oxidative stress response. 108th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiology. Boston, MA. Schwartzman, J.A. * and G. Spatafora. 2009. The S. mutans perR gene product is a transcriptional regulator of peroxide stress genes. 109th General Meeting of the American Society for Microbiolog, Philadelphia, PA. Spatafora, G. 7th Annual Mark Wilson Conference, Cancun, Mexico, February, 2008. "SloR modulation of the S. mutans ATR involves the GcrR response regulator as an essential intermediary." Spatafora, G. Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, The University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, December, 2008. "Investigating SloR virulence gene metalloregulation in the oral cariogen, Streptococcus mutans." Spatafora, G. Department of Biology, University of Richmond, VA, February, 2009. "Investigating SloR virulence gene metalloregulation in the oral cariogen, Streptococcus mutans." Spatafora, G. Vermont Academy of Sciences and Engineering, March, 2009. "Investigating SloR virulence gene metalloregulation in the oral cariogen, Streptococcus mutans." Spatafora, G. Department of Microbiology, Dartmouth School of Medicine, Hanover, NH, March, 2009. "Investigating SloR virulence gene metalloregulation in the oral cariogen, Streptococcus mutans." Stefani, M. Dept. of Psychology, State University of New York at Albany, 2009. Teaching Rats to Sort Cards: Assessing Cognitive Flexibility in a Rat Model of Schizophrenia. Stefani, M. Dept. of Neurobiology, State University of New York at Stonybrook, 2009. Teaching Rats to Sort Cards: An Assessment of the Neural Mechanisms Underlying a Rodent Model of Executive Function. Stefani M.R., Huff M.M. Transient inactivation of rat insular cortex affects extradimensional set-shifting but not reversal learning. Soc. Neurosci. Abstr. 24, 2008. Young, H. Poster presentation at a pre-Ecological Society of America conference titled Ecology and Evolution of plant-pollinator interactions: Effects of habitat fragmentation on bee pollinator communities in New England. Milwaukee, WI. August 2008. Young, H Oral presentation on the same topic as above at the Ecological Society of America conference, August 2008, Milwaukee, WI. Young, H Biology Department seminar, Middlebury College, Oct. 17, 2008, with Sam Tormey '09: The Galapagos Islands from Two Perspectives. [unreadable] Grants Awarded Marcia L. Collaer and Anthony Richardson, Co-Principal Investigators. NASA Space Grant [unreadable]joint proposal with UVM, Spatial Disorientation in Virtual Environments: Peripheral Vision and Hormonal Correlates. $20,383. Mathew O. Kimble 2008-2010. Psychophysiological correlates of attention in trauma survivors. Principal Investigator for a National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) AREA grant. Total Direct Costs: $135,000. Mathew O. Kimble 2008-2009. Perceptions of threat in military veterans and cadets. Principal Investigator for a Vermont Genetics Network Grant (A National Center for Research Resources Grant from NIH). Total Direct Costs: $70,000. James L. Larrabee NSF/MRI, 2008-2009. Acquisition of Spectropolarimeter for Circular Dichroism and Magnetic Circular Dichroism. $76,748. Sallie Sheldon. 2009. Systematic and ecological studies of North American Najas L. National Science Foundation RUI. $89,421. Sallie Sheldon. 2008. Interacting controls on ecosystem function: Nutrient state and omnivory in Salt Marsh Ecosystems. National Science Foundation. Marine Biological Lab. $22,000. Sallie Sheldon. 2009. Vermont EPSCoR. $9,978. Sallie Sheldon. 2009. Vermont EPSCoR sub award. $24,588. Jeremy Ward. NSF CAREER MCB-0844941 Toward the Genetics of Meiosis: Integration of Meiotic Molecular Biology and Public School Science Outreach. $875,000;5 years. Grants Submitted Costanza-Robinson, Molly S. et al. Institutional grant application submitted by Middlebury to the Merck Institute for Science Education/AAAS, submitted November 3, 2008. Unfunded. During the past fiscal year, Middlebury's Sponsored Research Office processed the following grant proposals from faculty in Biology, Chemistry, and Psychology, which were either not funded (D) or are currently pending (P). Submitted Status PI Name Dept Donor 07/30/08 P Larrabee, James A. CHEM National Science Foundation 06/25/08 P Cronise, Kim PSYCH National Institutes Of Health 07/29/08 P Choi, Sunhee CHEM National Science Foundation 09/01/08 D Cronise, Kim PSYCH Alcohol Beverage Medical Research Foundation 03/30/09 P Combelles, Catherine M. BIOL US Dept Of Agriculture 03/27/09 P Gurland, Suzanne T. PSYCH Society for Research in Child Development 02/19/09 P Sandwick, Roger K. CHEM National Institutes Of Health 11/13/08 P Spatafora, Grace A. BIOL National Institutes Of Health __________________________________________________ Norwich University VGN Highlights: 2008-2009 VGN Grant Awards for the Current Year Project Grants Dr. Natalia Blank Dr. Alison Fisher Dr. Elizabeth Wuorinen Pilot Grants Dr. Kevin Fleming Dr. Karen Hinkle Dr. Darlene Olsen Activities In addition to all of the funded VGN research PIs listed above, two more faculty members applied for VGN funding this year. Of the faculty applications, two have been rejected, five are provisionally funded, and one was accepted for funding. Dr. Scott Page, BPI coordinator, met with Dr. Judith Van Houten and a consultation team from the American Association for the Advancement of Science on June 17, 2008. The team toured Norwich's new VGN-funded laboratory facility and met with VGN-funded researchers and Norwich University President, Dr. Richard Schneider. VGN funded faculty, the BPI coordinator, Norwich University's grant writer, Karen Andreson, and Norwich University's President, Dr. Richard Schneider, attended the VGN Annual Retreat in August, 2008, in Burlington, VT. All VGN funded faculty, Dr. Joe Byrne, the BPI Coordinator, and the university grant writer attended the annual grant writing workshop in January, 2009, at Middlebury College. Dr. Natalia Blank and her students presented a poster (Donahue, J.;Androsova, A.;Androsov, A.;Blank, N.F. "Synthesis of Chiral 1,2-diamines via Asymmetric Addition of PhLi to 1,2-diimines") at the Annual Meeting of Vermont Genetics Network, Burlington VT (August 2008). Dr. Blank also enlisted the services of several students to perform grant-related projects during the past year. Their names and a brief description of their projects are outlined below: Aleksey Androsov: initial experiments in asymmetric addition of PhLi to N,N'-bis(4-methoxypehnyl)-1,2-diimine in a presence of stochiometric amounts of (-)-sparteine as a chiral promoter Angelina Androsova: Initial experiments in asymmetric addition of MeLi to N,N'-bis(4-methoxypehnyl)-1,2-diimine in a presence of (-)-sparteine as a chiral promoter;asymmetric addition of PhLi to N,N'-bis(4-methoxypehnyl)-1,2-diimine in a presence of stochiometric and substochiometric amounts of (-)-sparteine as a chiral promoter;optimization of reaction conditions Jennifer Donahue: assessment of stereo-efficacy of different bisoxazoline-based compounds in addition of PhLi to N,N'-bis(4-methoxypehnyl)-1,2-diimine;method optimization for HPLC separation of product chiral diamines. Kaitlyn Doolittle: initial experiments in determination of absolute configuration of cyclic urea, derivative of N,N'-bis(4-methoxyphenyl)-1,2-ethylenediamine (as a part of the assignment of the absolute configuration to the major and minor chiral products in addition of PhLi to diamine) Dr. Blank has had the following students express interest in doing research with her either during the school year or during the summer: Kaitlyn Doolittle, Anthony Sassi, Megan Davis, and Michael Ohrenberger. All are Biology or Chemistry majors. Dr. Alison Fisher gave the invited talk "How do plants determine when to flower?" for the Larsen Science Lecture Series at Norwich University, in February 29, 2008. Dr. Fisher presented a poster with her undergraduate students, "Ethylene's involvement in the photoperiod-induced flowering of Pharbitis nil 'Violet'(Japanese morning glory)" (Conklin, Q., Waterhouse, H., Paz, S., Davenport, C. and Fisher, A.J. ) at the New England Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Burlington, VT. Dr. Fisher presented a poster with her undergraduate students, "Regulation of flowering in Pharbitis (Ipomoea nil) by the hormone ethylene" (Conklin, Q., Waterhouse, H., Paz, S., Davenport, C. and Fisher, A.J. )at the FASEB Summer Research Conference on Mechanisms in Plant Development in Saxtons River, VT. August 10-14, 2008. Students who have assisted or are assisting Dr. Fisher in his research and a brief outline of their activities follows: Quinn Conklin and Tim Blood are using RT-PCR to determine the effects of inhibiting ethylene biosynthesis and perception on expression of the FLOWERING LOCUS T gene in Japanese morning glory plants. Sean Paz is determining the effect of flowering mutations on ethylene biosynthesis in Arabidopsis thaliana plants. Justin Michael has been washing dishes and learning RNA extraction, RT-PCR. This summer he plans to determine the effect of over-expression of the FLOWERING LOCUS T gene on ethylene biosynthesis in Japanese morning glory Biochemistry majors Helen Ngai, Justin Michael, and Kara Son have expressed interest in assisting Dr. Fisher with her research this summer. Dr. Fisher has also been awarded a research grant from the National Science Foundation, the details of which have yet to be determined. This makes Dr. Fisher the very first faculty member at Norwich University to receive such a grant. Dr. Kevin Fleming gave a presentation on his research and grant writing experience at the VGN Grant Writing workshop in January, 2008, at Middlebury College. Dr. Fleming and co-PI Matt Kimble will present "Novelty detection in trauma survivors: Data from two samples of Veterans and Military Cadets" in April at the Fifteenth International Congress on Event-Related Potentials of the Brain in Bloomington, Indiana. This presentation will discuss the results of their VGN-funded research. Students who have assisted or are assisting Dr. Fleming in his research and a brief outline of their activities follows: Yuliya Omarov - Performed extensive data analysis for ERPs in the weapon identification task. Very proficient with computers and handled hundreds of data files flawlessly. Andrea Zambetti - Assisted with the collection of P300 data and psychometric measurements for recent Iraq-war veterans. Scored hundreds of questionnaires and performed data analyses for her Senior Thesis. Russel Thongs - Programmed several eye-tracking methodologies using the Experiment Builder software for the EyeLink 1000. Very skilled programmer who fixed many bugs. Will Dorion - Programmed interest areas in the free-viewing paradigm and worked with the craniofacial stimuli. Collected Eye-Tracking data on civilians and cadets. Ashley deGrasse - Worked with thatcherized faces in the free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm for her senior thesis. Extracted and coded eye-tracking data for analysis using SPSS. The following students have expressed interest in assisting Dr. Fleming with his project starting next Fall semester as part of their Senior Theses: Stacey VanWickler, Kelley Daddio, George Rouson, Brian Boyer, all of whom are Psychology majors. Dr. Karen Hinkle presented a poster, with her student Emily Poulin, "Developmental Expression Patterns of Gastric Acid Regulators HDC, H2R, CCKBR, and HKB in Mice" at the VGN 5th Annual Retreat, in Burlington (Aug. 16, 2008). Students who have assisted or are assisting Dr. Hinkle in her research and a brief outline of their activities follows: Emily Poulin: "Quantitative RT-PCR Analysis of Gastric Acid Regulators in Mouse";Research assistant for Hinkle VGN grant (Fall 2007) Aaron M. Arzamendi: "Analysis of TFM-induced Differential Pho5 Gene Expression in Yeast";BI440: Reading and Research Project (Fall 2008) Clayton Brittingham: "Analysis of Petite Colony Abundance Among TFM-treated Yeast";BI440: Reading and Research Project (Spring 2009) Quinn Conklin: "Analysis of Growth Alterations in Yeast Cultures Acutely Treated with TFM";Student research volunteer (Spring 2009) The following students have received internal Norwich University summer fellowships to work with Dr. Hinkle on her VGN-funded project this summer: Chad Anderson: "Investigation of Apoptosis- and Atophagy-Inducing Genes in Yeast Acutely-treated with Lampricide"; Research Assistant for Hinkle VGN grant (Spring 2009) Kelsey Cone: "Analysis of Apoptosis in TFM-Treated Saccharomyces cerevisiae";Work-study student (Spring 2009) Dr. Elizabeth Wuorinen presented "Hunger is suppressed during exercise but increased food consumption occurs in a dose-dependent manner in lean, young women" at the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior Annual Meeting, July 2008, Paris, France. Dr. Wuorinen also presented "Exercise-induced energy expenditure and the effects on appetite." At the VGN Annual Retreat, August 2008, Burlington, Vermont. Students who have assisted or are assisting Dr. Wuorinen in her research and a brief outline of their activities follows: Meredith Cox: Worked on the data collected, analyzing food intake and psychophysical ratings of appetite, and putting the data into spreadsheets for further analysis. Sean McCartin: Worked on the metabolic data, converting it from the VO2 ml/min to kilocalories, carbohydrates and fat utilized and the percentages. Lauren Pacelli: Worked as the primary laboratory assistant, helping to run the trials, separation and aliquotting of blood, assisting with assays, and organization of samples. Monica Selander: Worked as the phlebotomist during the trials and assisted with assays. Monica also helped in the training of the phlebotomists for the upcoming years in addition to the training they were receiving in their certification course at Central Vermont Hospital. Jeff Wuorinen: Worked as the laboratory assistant, helping to run the trials, separation and aliquotting of blood, assisting with assays, and organization of samples The following students have expressed interest in assisting Dr. Wuorinen with her project next year: Kylie Cowens, Anthony Cox, Lauren Pacelli, Jeff Wuorinen, Stefan Wuorinen. All are Biology or Physical Education majors. __________________________________________________ Saint Michael's College Core Highlights: 2008-2009 Grant Awards: Project Grant Awarded: Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum Dr. Shane Lamos Pilot Project Awarded: Dr. Jo Ellis-Monaghan Participation in VGN Outreach: Fall 2008: Bioinformatics outreach program is incorporated as a new curricular unit in Molecular Biology (Prof. Mark Lubkowitz). Spring 2009: Bioinformatics outreach program is incorporated as a new curricular unit in Genetics (Prof. Mac Lippert) Professional Development Activities: 13 August 2008: VGN Retreat. Attended by a number of Saint Michael's faculty. 24 January 2009: VGN Professional Development Seminar [unreadable]Best Practices for Integrating Teaching and Research. Hosted by Middlebury College. Presentation by Dr. Shane Lamos (VGN grant recipient). Attended by Dr. Jo Ellis-Monaghan, Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum, Dr. Shane Lamos, and Dr. Doug Green (BPI Coordinator). 25 March 2009: Science Career Discussion Panel. Sponsored by VGN and Saint Michael's Student Resource Center. Three Saint Michael's alums and Dr. Karen Lounsbery discuss pursuing careers in science. 58 Saint Michael's students attend. 15 April 2009: VGN Career Day. Will be attended by all Saint Michael's faculty and students currently supported by VGN, several prior recipients of VGN funding, and the BPI Coordinator. Progress on the "Culture of Research" Initiative: During the current reporting year Saint Michael's has continued its efforts to extend the campus Culture of Research to include undergraduates, including both science and non-science disciplines. Our Committee on Undergraduate Research is chaired by Dr. Ari Kirshenbaum (VGN grant recipient) and Dr. Doug Green (BPI Coordinator) serves on it as well. The Committee's goals include encouraging and recognizing student research and independent work to the fullest extent possible. Initiatives sponsored by the Committee this year include: + Undergraduate Research Club: The Undergraduate Research Club was chartered in the fall of 2008. As a new member of our Student Association, the Club has spent its time this year working on developing its mission and its interest base among students. There is more work for them to do, but student interest is reasonably high. + Deans Reception: This year we will continue the practice, begun last year, of recognizing student work at our annual Dean's Reception. At the Reception students will display posters and other forms of original scholarship for parents of and students on the Dean's List. + Undergraduate Research Symposium: This year on April 29th Saint Michael's will host its first annual college-wide Student Research Symposium. This all-day event will feature poster and oral presentations by students from all disciplines, detailing their research and other forms of scholarship. Currently almost 150 students have signed up to present. The Vice President's office awarded 12 grants for undergraduates in various disciplines to perform research projects with a faculty mentor during the summer of 2009. Approximately 12 additional students have received external funding for research projects this summer. On a related note, Saint Michael's will host the annual Sigma Xi induction dinner on April 21, 2009. At this meeting, approximately 10-20 undergraduates from a variety of Vermont colleges will present a poster of their research and will be inducted into Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society. The nominations are not all in so the identity of these students is not yet known, but historically many of them have received VGN funding. Faculty Engaged in Grant Review: Approximately a quarter of our faculty (10 of 39) served on review panels for grants, including: Vermont Genetics Network, VT EPSCoR, NSF, American Chemical Society, NASA, and the Lake Champlain Research Center.